Wellbeing Consultation Team

25 September 2008

Wellbeing Consultation Team

Consultation Unit

Ground Floor, Area B

Castle View House

East Lane

Runcorn

Cheshire, WA7 2GJ

Dear Sir/Madam

DEA response to consultation on ‘Schools' Role in Promoting Pupil Well-being - Draft Guidance for Consultation’

We welcome the opportunity to respond to this consultation. DEA is an education charity with a network which promotes global learning. Global learning means putting learning in a global context, fostering:

·  critical and creative thinking;

·  self-awareness and open-mindedness towards difference;

·  understanding of global issues and power relationships; and

·  optimism and action for a better world.

Our main points in response to the consultation are very relevant to the proposals but do not fit well in the questionnaire response form, they are:

1.  There needs to be greater clarity about what is meant by wellbeing in the guidance

2.  Wellbeing needs to be a key factor in other DCSF policies. This cannot be seen as a duty that is placed on schools without it permeating all areas of DCSF. Other DCSF policies should be assessed against their impact on pupil wellbeing

1.  On the first point, we would like to point out a few relevant factors:

·  Consideration about wellbeing must recognise the global context which young people are growing up in. Actions around the world impact on their lives. And their lives impact on people and places around the world. It is essential that young people have the global learning to make sense of these interconnections.

·  Young people’s sense of being part of society, locally and globally, and having a positive impact is essential to wellbeing. According to our 2008 research with Ipsos MORI (see www.dea.org.uk/research), only 42% of 11-16 year olds believe that what they do in their daily life affects people in other countries. That means that almost 3 in 5 are not identifying their connection to the rest of the world - that their actions and choices affect people around the world, for example, through climate change.

·  Curiosity is a key element of wellbeing and the Enjoyment element of the ECM outcome of ‘Enjoy and Achieve’ must be remembered in all policy initiatives. Young people are motivated by learning which is meaningful to them - this often means that it recognises the global context of their lives. Schools have an essential role in cultivating curiosity and a love of learning – we need to prevent the targets culture from acting against this.

·  As the draft wellbeing guidance acknowledges, there is a strong connection between wellbeing and community cohesion. Our 2008 research with Ipsos MORI (see www.dea.org.uk/research) found only 50% of pupils think it is a good idea to have people of different backgrounds living in the same country together. However, according to all the indicators of global learning we used, global learning makes a big difference in making young people more positive about this. For example, those who have thought about news stories from around the world from different points of view are more likely to think it is a good idea by 17 points. This reinforces our view that appreciating a range of perspectives on issues is essential in responding positively to diversity.

·  Optimism and empowerment are key to wellbeing. 66% of young people feel that they can do something to make the world a better place, this rises to 85% for those who’ve had discussions at school about what people can do to make the world a better place. Optimism shouldn’t mean blind faith that things will get better but should lead to a sense of empowerment and the motivation to make a difference. Globalisation can seem overwhelming and create a sense of powerlessness. Understanding more about the global context in which we live makes young people far more positive about their capacity to make the world a better place.

·  Young people’s wellbeing is very much impacted by their environment and further work needs to be done around sustainable schools and wider environmental issues.

2.  To ensure young people’s wellbeing, guidance is not only needed for schools but all elements of the DCSF and those that impact on schools such as the National Strategies need to be obliged to promote wellbeing in their policies.

I’ve attached our policy discussion paper, ‘Questioning Education’, which looks at some of these issues in more detail and hope that it will be useful to your work.

Yours faithfully

Helen Young

Policy and Research Manager